


My Heart is a Loose Cannon (And Baby, It's Ready to Blow)

by flamefox428



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, I just love aus you guys, Mermaid!Emily, Pirate Captain!Beca, Pirate/Mermaid AU, mild depictions of violence, pirate talk, seven seas au, tags will be added as the story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-07 23:47:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14092383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamefox428/pseuds/flamefox428
Summary: Beca Mitchell, the most feared pirate captain on the seven seas, has the world spread out and ripe for the taking. The only rules she lives by are the pirate code and the lawless chaos of the ocean, spending her days swashbuckling with her loyal crew. All this is soon to change when a mysterious stranger comes crashing into her life.OrThe pirate/mermaid au that I thought of this morning and fell in love with instantly.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have so many fun aus bouncing around in my head write now that I just have to write them all. This is the first like fantasy style Bemily fic if I'm correct, so I hope you guys like it cause I'm lowkey in love with pirate Beca and mermaid Emily. 
> 
> This is dedicated to Angie cause she's an icon who listens to all my ridiculous ideas.

The salty sea spray caught in her nose and brushed through the loose ends of her curled hair, blowing it back from her neck. There was nothing like life on the sea. A life of swashbuckling, treasure, women, and rum. 

Beca “Shawshank” Mitchell was one of the most notorious pirates on the seven seas. Everything she had known as a pirate was knowledge passed down from her generations of pirates in her family. Her father used to say she had a cannon for a heart and sea water in her veins. Unfortunately, or maybe predictably given their line of work, he had died 20 years prior, when she was four years old. 

Her father’s quartermaster and the one who took over as captain, Oakley “The Rat” Landon, had raised her until the ripe age of 16 when she had killed him. The Rat’s name had been fitting as she had discovered him smuggling maps and jewels off the ship for sale to British Naval officers. Enraged and betrayed by her surrogate father, she gutted him with her cutlass and took over as captain. 

The crew had threatened mutiny at first, but when they heard of what she had discovered, they had thrown the scallywag’s duffle into the sea to sink to Davy Jones’ locker. Shortly afterward she had inherited her father’s fearsome black tricorn hat; the mark of the captain. With inheriting the title of captain came inheriting the most fearsome ship on the seven seas, the _Howling Sabre_. Beca had gone on to rule the seas, becoming the most fearsome pirate captain at the fresh age of 24, building a new pirate crew for herself as members of her father’s original crew died off and aged.

She stood at the bow of her mighty ship, watching the sea ahead as she played with her silver-plated dagger. It had been a few days since they had seen anyone else on the horizon, and she was intent on getting to the Caribbean Isles. 

“Quartermaster! Avast ye!” Beca called as she turned to face her crew working below. The girl in question turned and saw her waiting expectantly at the bow. She rushed up to her and bowed low. 

“Captain,” she said, addressing her. Chloe Beale had been her quartermaster for two years now. She wore the red sash around her shoulder with pride and she was a loyal buccaneer. Beca knew she could count on Chloe for anything. 

“Are we still on course for Tortuga?” She asked, sheathing her dagger. 

“Aye, aye, captain,” Chloe replied. “We’re full sails and thanking the sea for her blessings.” 

“Excellent!” She said joyfully. “The sea, she’s been kind to us.” 

“Aye captain,” Chloe said. “If only she would stay that way and-Blimey!” 

 Chloe was startled and surprised and Beca turned to see what she was looking at, spotting a British naval ship slicing through the water in their direction. 

“All hands hoy!” Beca shouted as she drew her sabre from its scabbard. “Prepare ye to scuttle their ship and send these sorry excuses for shark bait back to the depths of the sea!” 

Her crew cheered their hurrahs and began preparing the canons for a fight. The powder monkeys scrambled below deck to begin loading the canons while the rest of the crew prepared their weapons. 

“Quartermaster! Bring us ‘round the starboard bow!” Beca shouted as the ship swayed in the waters, turning perpendicular to the naval ship. “Ready! Aim! FIRE!” 

The cannon balls ripped through the air and careened into the ship’s hull, tearing it to shreds. They brought the nose of the _Howling Sabre_ around and sailed alongside the _Dauntless_. 

“Avast ye, slimy scoundrels!” Beca called as she swung over the distance between the two boats, followed by her crew. She slit the throat of the naval officer closest to her and the metal of her sword clanged against that of the commodore’s, who had rushed her.

The fight was blazing around them as they parried, dodged, and struck at each other. They danced a careful rhythm around the deck, weaving around the masts and the other members of their crews. 

Beca could hear the fierce clanging of swords ringing clearly through the air, and it fueled her desire to fight. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a naval officer knock Chloe to the ground and press a sword to her throat. She felt fear surge up in her chest and with renewed vigour, she lunged forward and gutted the officer she was fighting before whipping a dagger through the air and watching it sink into the other officer’s shoulder. He howled in pain, giving Chloe the opportunity to sweep him off his feet and slit his throat. 

When the fighting stopped and the last lifeless naval officer hit the deck, Beca crowed her victory to the catcalls and howls of her crew. She bent down and unsheathed the commodore’s elegant, jewel-encrusted sword, hooking to her own belt as a trophy. 

“Loot the ship and then burn her to ash!” Beca called joyously, laughing freely as the few members of the crew left on the _Sabre_ threw planks across the gap between the two boats, creating bridges to haul their loot back over. She stood on the top deck of the ship, watching her crew transports maps, jewels, gold, and weapons back to her ship.

When that was done, two of her pirates, Amy and Cynthia Rose, began spilling gunpowder throughout the ship, coating the deck in the grey powder. The rest of the crew retreated to the decks of the Sabre as Beca soaked a broken oar in oil and lit in on fire, tossing it across the gap between the ships and watching as it burst into flames.

The fire licked up the masts and the sails, turning the whole ship into an explosion of red and orange flames. It wasn’t long before the flames got to the casks of gunpowder below deck and explosions began to rumble and rock the ship on the waves as it tore it apart.

Beca nodded finitely and turned, retiring to her quarters as they sailed away until the _Dauntless_ was nothing but a fiery blur on the horizon.

/ / /

Hours later, they finally arrived in the port on the southern side of Tortuga. They docked the ship and left a few of the crew on board to keep watch while they went into the town there. It was as rowdy and foul as ever, with people drinking in the streets, fighting, and singing raucously as if it were their last day alive.

Beca strolled casually threw the chaos with her crew trailing behind her, their hands on their guns in case anyone was looking for trouble. Not that they would, given Beca’s reputation. They had had a successful day, and Beca figured it would do well to reward her crew, so she sent them on their ways with promises to be back on the ship in the morning.

Beca, who would normally be one for drinking the night away to the tune of merry revelry, made her way out of the town, instead opting to walk along the boardwalk by the shore. The night sky stretched dark and wide above her like an ink stained sail, the stars winking playfully at her. The night was cool, and a slight breeze ruffled through the jacket she pulled tighter against her body.

She closed her eyes and took in the silence of the beach, the shouts and singing of the town sounding distant in her ears. She walked further down the boardwalk until she stepped off in onto the sandy beach. She wandered for a while before coming to a small inlet that formed a sort of cove along the shoreline.

A faint lyrical voice floated through the air to her ears, and Beca was sure she had never heard anything more beautiful in her whole life. As if in a trance, she moved towards the shore of the cove, the melodic singing growing louder as she did.

When she discovered the source of the singing, she sucked in a surprised breath. There, swimming through the peaceful water of the cove, was a beautiful woman, singing absently as she did. Beca took a few more hesitant steps, until she was at the very edge of the shore. She cast a look down into the water, surprised to see that it didn’t slope in like she would expect the shore to, instead dropping off in a sharp cliff into the inky depths below.

The woman swimming around caught sight of Beca and in her surprise, stopped singing for a moment.

“Ahoy, fair maiden,” Beca greeted, watching the woman in fascination as she swam to the edge of the cove, propping her arms on the ground as she looked up at Beca. Beca was blown away by her beauty. She had long blonde hair that seemed to curl around her shoulders, despite being wet, and her emerald green eyes almost seemed to glow.

“Hello, sailor,” she greeted, her voice warm and sweet like honey. Beca crouched down to be eye-level with the woman, and spoke again.

“What are you doing out here all alone? Don’t you know this is pirate territory?” Beca asked, her head tilting in confusion.

“I think I can handle myself, pirate,” the woman replied, a smile splitting her face. “What is your name?”

“Beca,” she replied, sitting down and crossing her legs. The woman smiled, and Beca fell more under her trance.

“What a lovely name,” the woman cooed. She lifted a hand up to play with the laces of Beca’s boot while she spoke. “I am Serena.”

“What are you doing out here?” Beca asked again. 

“Swimming of course, would you like to join me?” Serena asked, grasping loosely at Beca’s ankle.

“I’m afraid not, but you can join me on the shore,” Beca said with a smile. Serena’s smile faltered slightly, but it was back again in a moment.

“I think you want to join me in the water,” Serena purred, her green eyes flashing again as her voice took on an even silkier quality. It sounded like music to Beca’s ears. She hesitated, but found that she really _did_ want to join Serena. With a robotic nod, Beca stood up and began to shed her hat, coat, boots, pistols and sheaths as she went. A very small part of her questioned what she was doing, but then Serena began to sing again and all those doubtful thoughts melted away until there was only her sweet singing. When Beca was down to her trousers and an long-sleeved undershirt, she dipped a foot into the pool of water, shivering at how shockingly cold it was, but Serena’s sweet voice was luring her in.

There was splash a few feet away, and Beca’s head snapped up, momentarily broken from her trance as she scanned for the source of the noise. Serena, apparently displeased by this, hissed and lashed forward so fast she was a blur in Beca’s vision, and the next thing she knew, Beca was being ripped into the water before she could scream.

She was pulled down deeper and deeper, the air being ripped from her body as her lungs filled with sea water and she began to panic. A scaly tail brushed against her body, the muscles under it feeling like steel cords and Beca’s oxygen deprived mind supplied her with the panicked thought of _mermaid_ , before she thrashed away, trying to get back to the shore.

It was no use and Serena dragged her down forward, the weight of the mermaid and the increasing pressure of the sea almost crushing Beca. Clawed fingers ripped and tore at her skin and Beca could feel her body going into shock from blood loss and the freezing water and her rapidly depleting oxygen reserves.

She sucked in a delirious breath, only serving to fill her lungs even further with seawater and the edges of her vision went fuzzy. She was going to die. She would die and no one would ever find her body or know why she died.

The more drained she became the more she stopped fighting and eventually she went limp in Serena’s clutches, feeling death fast approaching.

 _I’m sorry father_ , she thought hopelessly. _Your legacy disgraced by a foolish girl who fell prey to a siren._

She thought of her crew, her _family_ , looking for her the next day and wondering if she had abandoned them; thought of all the glorious adventures they had had and the ones they had yet to have.

Chloe would take care of them, she knew she would. She would take over as captain and she would be nowhere near as fierce as Beca was, but Beca’s reputation would protect her and Chloe would have the rest of the girls to help her along.

Beca’s head was warm, and felt like it was full of old cotton. She was dizzy and she felt her heart rate slow and it almost felt like she was going to sleep after a long day’s work, her muscles languid and her mind drifting away from her.

 _Prepare yourself Davy Jones_ , she thought dazedly, a stupid grin stretching her lips as her life flickered feebly. _I will rule the ocean now and there’s nothing you can do to stop me_.

But then the weight of Serena was gone and she could hear watery shrieks echo in her mind as if they were sounding in her head. She tried to remain conscious, but could feel herself slipping. Suddenly, arms were around her and they were moving through the water and it felt like they were getting closer to the surface but that couldn’t be right.

She felt frigid fresh air on her face and the solid ground hit her back and she blinked hazily and saw the face of a concerned girl swimming in her field of vision and her whole body was wracked with shivers and spasms as she felt herself bleeding out and dying. Her lungs burned as she coughed up lungful after lungful of sea water, tasting blood as well.  

“You’ll be okay, I promise, just stay alive,” a voice like liquid gold told her and then everything slipped sideways and Beca lost consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ask for another chapter and ye shall receive another chapter. I told you I was obsessed with this au. If you guys have mermaid!Emily or pirate!Beca headcanons come yell with me about them.

Beca didn’t know how long she was out, but when she eventually regained consciousness, it was no longer night and the sun was beating down on the shores. Firstly, she was shocked that she was alive, and after that thought passed, she was aware of the blinding pain her body was in. She tried to sit up, taking multiple tries and only being able to prop herself up onto her elbows.

She took stock of herself, laying there in the shade of the cove. Her shirt had been torn from her body and ripped into strips that had been tied tightly around her arms and stomach, the white linen stained an angry red colour from her blood.

_Who had done this?_ She wondered to herself. She looked around and saw no one else in sight. She tried to sit up again but gasped in pain. When she peaked under the cloth wrapped around her abdomen she winced at the deep laceration running across her stomach. She flopped back down on the sand and sucked in ragged, laboured breaths as she tried to remember what had happened.  

The memories of the siren floated back to her and she cast a worried look at the water. How had she gotten back on the shore? She had been sure that the foul beast had taken her to the other side, but here she was, back on land and seemingly alive.

She was in the middle of wondering how she was going to get back to the ship and to her crew when a splashing in the water caught her attention. Another girl, this one even more beautiful than the siren, appeared from the water and Beca felt the same fear rear its head in her chest.

“Be gone you foul demon before I gut ye and send ye back to the depths of the ocean where ye belong!” Beca barked, scrambling up and ignoring the blinding pain that shot through her body as she stood. She swayed on her feet and reached for her sword, stumbling as she did so. She turned and pointed the sword at the girl, but the spinning motion was too much and she fell to her knees instead, spilling her guts into the sparse grass along the beach. 

“Please, I just want to help,” the girl answered. She hoisted herself up onto the shore, and despite her fear, Beca’s breath was taken away by the way the sun glinted off the shimmering scales of her tail. No matter which way Beca moved her head, the tail appeared to wink and glimmer every colour under the sun. Beca was sure she had never seen jewels more beautiful than this.

However, her fear won out over her curiosity and she gripped her sword tightly, pushing herself up onto her knees and brandishing her weapon at the mermaid.

“Your kind tried to use me to feed the fish,” Beca accused with a menacing scowl. She was only mildly aware of the fact that she was nearly naked and covered in her own blood and probably not very fearsome looking in that moment.

“I just want to help, please,” the mermaid said again. She untied a cloth pouch from her waist and emptied its contents onto the shore, apparently content to ignore Beca for the time being. Beca, her curiosity getting the better of her again, moved towards the mermaid, slowly and carefully, her sword at the ready the whole time.

“Please,” the mermaid said again, beckoning Beca closer. “I won’t harm you, but you’ll perish if you don’t let me dress your wounds.

Beca weighed her options. It was either succumb to this mermaid and let her kill her the same way her demon kin had tried to, or die waiting on this beach and let the mermaid clean her bones after she had passed. Or perhaps she truly wanted to help.

Beca decided to try her chances and moved to sit by the mermaid. She pushed Beca down so she was laying on the warm sand again and carefully untied the makeshift bandage around her middle.

“You are quite small for a pirate,” the mermaid told Beca idly as she prepared for whatever she was about to do. Beca was outraged.

“Small? I am the most feared pirate captain on the seven seas! Pirates tremble in fear of my very name!” Beca crowed indignantly. The mermaid merely hummed and pushed Beca back down in the sand. She held up a suture and strung whisper thin fishing line through it, tying it off at the end.

“Where did ye get these tools?” Beca asked curiously. She had never heard of a mermaid who could dress wounds.

“I collect things,” the mermaid answered. She bent down and her mouth hovered over Beca stomach before Beca was grabbing her head to stop her.

“Avast! What are ye doing?” Beca asked in a panic, feeling like a trapped animal. The mermaid looked up at her sympathetically.

“Our bite paralyzes our prey, it will help with the pain,” the mermaid said. Beca looked at her cautiously but let go of her head. The mermaid wadded up the cloth that had previously been wrapped around her abdomen and stuffed it into her mouth. “This will hurt.” 

Beca was _not_ prepared for how it would feel to be bitten by a mermaid.

If she thought the claws marks and lacerations from the siren yesterday were bad, this was a pain known by no man or woman on this earth. Tears sprang to her eyes and the cloth in her mouth muffled her cries as she bit down hard on it, her whole body beginning to spasm again as the mermaid held her down.

The mermaid drew back, her chin stained red from Beca’s blood. Beca was panting heavily and sweating now as the mermaid began to pull the suture through her skin to sew up her wound. More than anything, Beca wished she were back on the ship with a bottle of rum in hand and Lilly stitching her up instead. 

Beca could feel her mind going foggy again and was sure she almost blacked out again before the mermaid told her she was done. Beca tried to sit up, but found she couldn’t with her whole body still tingling from the mermaid’s bite.

“It should wear off soon,” she told her, coming further onto the shore to prop herself up on an arm and lounge casually by Beca in the sand. Her long brown hair tickled Beca’s nose and her deep brown eyes reminded Beca of the cocoa they sometimes stole from the merchant ships. The mermaid pulled the cloth from Beca’s mouth and set it aside, instead opting to brush Beca’s tangled hair out of her eyes gently.

“What is your name pirate?” the mermaid asked.

“Beca,” Beca supplied. “Beca Mitchell.”

“Hello Beca, I’m Emily,” the mermaid replied.

“Why save me?” Beca asked, still in a daze from the pain and the exhausting twelve hours she had had prior.

“Because you didn’t deserve to die,” Emily said simply, her finger still gently working out the tangles in Beca’s hair. It felt…nice, despite her mild concern over the possibility of being eaten by this mermaid.

“Shall ye feast on me sorry carcass?” Beca asked, cursing her tactlessness. The mermaid frowned a pouty frown down at Beca.

“Why save you if I meant to eat you?” Emily said. “You fascinate me.”

Beca was unsure if she liked the way that statement made her feel.

“Why not? Creature of beauty or not, you have the advantage,” Beca pushed, not certain why she was practically begging a mermaid to kill her.

“I shan’t eat you, foolish pirate,” Emily said with another frown, though her cheeks and her tail had a faint pink hue to them that wasn’t there before.

“I must return to my crew,” Beca announced, though she didn’t know how she would make it.

“I shall return you to your ship,” Emily assured, tying the pouch around her waist again and slipping back into the water. Before Beca could protest, Emily was scooping her up and grabbing her things, settling Beca on her body as she lazily swam backwards through the water. Beca was struck by just how strong Emily was and how easy it would be for the mermaid to turn her into shark bait with one flick of her powerful tail.

It wasn’t long before they reached the hull of the _Sabre_ and by that time, Beca had finally regained her full range of movement. The downside to the venom wearing off was that she could now feel the burning pain in her stomach from the stitches she had been given. 

With a powerful beat of her tail, Emily surged up and placed Beca on the dock before dropping back down into the water. Beca shivered and pulled on her jacket, hat, and boots, looking down at Emily in the water.

“I am indebted to you; how will I repay your favour?” Beca asked, sad that they were parting so soon.

“We shall see each other again,” Emily assured. She beckoned Beca closer for a moment and Beca sank to her knees to be at eye-level with Emily. She had a brief flash of being in this exact same position last night before she was attacked, but this time when Emily surged up it was not to drag her to the depths of the ocean but instead to steal a kiss from Beca’s lips. 

“Sink me!” Beca cried in surprise before melting into the kiss.

Before she knew it, Emily was retreating. Her cheeks and tail were a brilliant pink colour now, shimmering in the clear blue sea. Beca’s head was swimming, and Emily gave one last smile before turning and flicking her tail, sending her down into the ocean and out of Beca’s sight.

Beca turned in a daze and climbed onto the deck of the _Sabre_ , having enough sense to go straight to her quarters and to change out of her tattered clothes so her crew wouldn’t notice her injuries. When she remerged from her quarters, she saw the crew milling around on deck, all looking like they were still three sheets to the wind from last night.

Beca thought about setting sail, and about leaving Tortuga, and about Emily back in that cove and for reasons unknown, decided that she wasn’t ready to leave yet.

“Avast ye!” Beca ordered. “Furl the sails and careen the ship! It’s time to put ye dirty scallywags to work!”

“Captain, we’ll be marooned in Tortuga for another three days at least!” Chloe questioned. 

“Aye, and the ship has built up quite a scum of barnacles!” Beca barked. “How do you expect me to be the fiercest pirate on the seven seas if my ship is not pristine!” 

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Chloe said, ducking her head in submission before turning and giving out orders to the rest of the crew.

Beca nodded and turned, standing at the edge of the ship and casting her gaze out to the sea. Her eyes followed the shoreline, and from this distance, she could just see the cove where she knew Emily was, the mermaid filling her thoughts and her heart with a strange warmth she couldn’t explain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally cannot stop writing this au. This chap is extra gay and extra soft, just a couple losers in love. 
> 
> My current aesthetic is Emily's colour-changing tail #AllHailTheGlowTail

Emily watched Beca climb onto the ship, smiling to herself before flipping and swimming off through the ocean. She had heard plenty of stories about pirates, but she had never met one in person before.

And Beca was _wonderful_ and nothing at all like Emily imagined a pirate to be. For starters, she was the smallest pirate Emily had ever seen, though she had a strength in her eyes like the tides of the ocean.

And oh, those _eyes._  

Beca had the bluest eyes Emily had ever seen. Deep and blue and powerful like her beautiful ocean. She could swim in those eyes forever.

Emily continued to the cove, brushing her fingers through the anemones and spooking the clownfish as she went, giggling as they darted around her. She fluttered her fingers playfully at them before cresting the reef and swimming deeper and deeper down into the ocean, eventually coming to a sunken ship.

She swum through the broken hull and into the once lavish interior, ceasing her forward movement and allowing herself to sink down onto what once must have been the captain’s bed with a dreamy sigh.

“I see you’re finally back,” a voice called. Emily turned and swam through the ship to find Stacie at a mirror, combing through her hair with a shell.

Stacie had been Emily’s closest friend for years now. They lived near a pod of mermaids, but the others had always seen Emily as a bit of an outsider since she didn’t prey on humans, and instead was fascinated with them.

At first, it had just been Emily living in the old sunken ship on the edge of the pod’s territory. She didn’t mind the solitude, it gave her time to go through the waterlogged books in the captain’s quarters, teaching herself how to dress wounds and speak in pirate tongues; teaching herself the hierarchy of pirates.

Emily loved to collect human things. They were just so practical. She would often venture close to the docks to collect things that careless humans lost along the shore, or to steal a lobster or two from a trap when she was hungry.

One day she had been out collecting when she heard faint cries for help, and darted through the docks to find another mermaid tangled and bloodied in a fishing net. The cords were so tight around her that they were cutting into her tail and neck and Emily made quick work of the ropes, freeing the girl.

Emily took her back to the sunken ship and stitched her wounds, bringing her food and caring for her until she regained her strength. Emily learned that her name was Stacie and that she had been rejected by her pod to the south for taking too many humans and risking exposing the pod.

At first, they didn’t agree on their differing diets, Emily being against killing humans and all, but as Emily cared for her and Stacie grew more accustomed to food that wasn’t human, they began to understand each other more, and had been inseparable ever since.

Emily snapped out of her thoughts as the older mermaid turned and faced her, sniffing slightly.

“I see you found yourself a meal, and a human too. I’m proud of you,” Stacie cooed. “Your first human. They’re so much tastier than fish, don’t you think?”

“I didn’t eat a human…” Emily said, trailing off. “I…savedahuman.”

“What was that?” Stacie asked, putting the shell down and giving Emily her full attention.

“I…sort of saved a human,” Emily said, twisting her fingers nervously as she gave Stacie a sheepish smile. Stacie looked unimpressed.

“And why would you do that?” Stacie asked. 

“Another mermaid got her, she was trying to kill her and she was still fighting so desperately, and Stace you know I don’t approve of killing humans,” Emily whined. “So, I saved her.”

“Ah, and _then_ you ate her,” Stacie said, nodding her head. “I admire your competitiveness, but you shouldn’t play with your food.”

“No, I didn’t eat her, I bit her and stitched up her wounds,” Emily explained.

“ _Why_ did you do that?” Stacie groaned, flipping her tail and swimming off into another part of the ship, Emily trailing along behind her.

“I didn’t want her to die,” Emily repeated with a pout, before giggling when she thought of her interaction with Beca. “She has such a silly way of speaking.”

“She’s a dry-lander Em,” Stacie said with a tired sigh. “All dry-landers have a funny way of speaking." 

“Beca is extra silly, she called me beautiful you know,” Emily said with a bright smile, her scales shimmering pink again.

“What’s a Beca?” Stacie asked idly. Emily swam a quick circle around Stacie, her tail flipping back and forth in her excitement. 

“That’s her name!” Emily announced with pride. 

“Emily,” Stacie groaned. “Don’t name it, that’s how you get attached to it.” 

“I didn’t name her, that’s her own name,” Emily explained. “That’s what she’s called by the other humans.”

“Emily,” Stacie warned. “You shouldn’t get too comfortable around humans. A lot of them can be monsters.” 

Emily went quiet, feeling guilty about her excitement. They had known too many mermaids who had been poached by humans for their scales and tail fins. Stacie sensed Emily’s discomfort and sighed again, shaking her head. 

“Maybe your Beca is different,” Stacie said. “From the way you describe her, she doesn’t sound very much of a threat.”

“She’s not _my_ human Stacie,” Emily said, her tail shimmering a faint pink before flickering to yellowy hues in her excitement. “But you should meet her! That would show you.”

“I suppose it won’t hurt,” Stacie said idly, back to playing with her hair and arranging it into elegant braids. Emily flicked her tail in excitement, resisting the urge to squeal as she thought of the tiny pirate.

/ / /

The next day, Emily took Stacie up to the cove. She was disappointed at first to not find Beca there, and hoped she hadn’t left the island yet. It occurred to her that she had never asked when the pirate would be leaving.

Stacie was content to stay in the cove anyway, sunbathing on the flat rocks that jutted out of the water. Emily hauled herself up onto a rock as well, sighing and flapping her tail in the water, playing with her hair as they passed the time.

It was nearing midafternoon when Emily sighed, resigning herself to the fact that Beca must have set sail in her ship last night. Her heart ached for the tiny pirate, and she cursed herself for falling so quickly.

“It’s okay, Em,” Stacie told her, eyes still closed as she lay in the sun. A small smirk crawled lazily across her lips. “There are plenty other fish in the sea.”

“Now that’s just cruel,” Emily said indignantly, giving Stacie’s tail a whack with her hand. Stacie yelped and laughed, splashing her tail into the water and soaking Emily. Emily squealed and grinned at the challenge, slipping into the water and bringing her tail up to soak Stacie as well.

She was so focused on the little game they had started that she almost missed the hesitant little “ahoy!” that sounded behind her. Emily whipped around with a wide smile, feeling excitement race through her when she saw Beca standing on the shore. She was still wearing her pirate hat, but she had left her fancy red coat on her ship this time.

“Ahoy, captain,” Emily teased playfully, swimming to the edge of the cove and flicking her tail up to splash water at Beca.

“Avast!” Beca squeaked, taking a step back in surprised and grumbling at Emily as she shook the water off herself. Emily giggled and looked up at Beca with a bright smile, pleased to see Beca’s frustration melt into a matching smile. 

She kicked off her boots and rolled the cuffs of her pants up to her knees, sitting on the shore and slipping her legs into the water.

“Speak me yer tidings, fair one,” Beca said, looking down at Emily.

“I’m well, and I brought someone to meet you,” Emily said with a smile. Beca looked a little frightened. Emily gave her a warm smile and turned to call Stacie over, who was watching them from the rock in mild interest. 

Stacie slid into the water and flipped her tail, gliding effortlessly over to them. She swam right over and between Beca’s legs, bracing her arms on either side of the small pirate and hoisting herself to eye-level. Stacie regarded Beca like she was an interesting puzzle, and Beca blushed brightly at her proximity. 

Emily’s smile turned sour and against her will she lashed her tail in frustration, the scales glimmering a bright green briefly.

“I understand why you didn’t eat this one,” Stacie said, pushing herself up onto the shore to sit next to Beca and examine her more. “She’s quite nice to look at.”

“Stacie!” Emily barked, her tail shimmering a darker green as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Oh hush, I’ve never been this close to a dry-lander that I haven’t eaten, let me get a good look at her,” Stacie chastised, poking and pulling at Beca’s clothing. She grabbed one of Beca’s hands and spread it apart, examining her fingers in mild fascination.

“No webbing at all,” Stacie mused, comparing Beca’s hand to her own slightly webbed one. “How do you swim? You mustn’t be very fast.”

“Hence the boat,” Beca said dryly, huffing out a sigh. Emily giggled at that and Stacie rolled her eyes, mumbling something about sarcastic dry-landers. “Ye are stuck in the waters, don’t mock me for being bound to the land.”

“We can come on the land if we really want to,” Stacie said idly, slipping back into the water gracefully. 

“Aye?” Beca said, looking very interested.

“Aye, aye, captain,” Emily teased, resting her arms on Beca’s legs and her chin on her arms. “We don’t do it often though, because it’s hard to hide the gills, and the webbing. We don’t exactly blend in.” 

Emily tilted her head to the side to let Beca see the long, frilled slits that ran down Emily’s neck behind her ears, forming the gills that allowed her to breathe under water.

“Blimey,” Beca said softly, gently running her fingers along the edges of the gills. Emily’s eyes fluttered shut and she tried not to giggle at the ticklish sensation. “Am I hurting ye?”

“No,” Emily said, just as softly, looking up and letting her eyes drift to Beca’s lips again. Beca got caught in Emily’s warm gaze before she seemed to remember something. 

“I brought ye something,” Beca said, reaching into her shirt and pulling out a golden medallion. She strung it around Emily’s neck and dropped the medallion into her hands. It was shiny and winked at her in the sunlight, and it was emblazoned with a skull and crossbones. 

Emily _loved_ it. 

“I didn’t bring you anything,” Emily pouted, looking up at Beca and clasping the medallion in her hands. 

“I didn’t expect ye to,” Beca said with a small grin. “I owe ye me life.”

“You’re much nicer than other humans,” Stacie said, eyeing Beca through narrowed eyes. Emily resisted the urge to roll her eyes, already knowing what was coming. 

“Nice! A pirate captain need not be nice! She be fearsome and wicked!” Beca grumbled indignantly, waving her hands wildly as she spoke. “I be the black scourge of the sea!”

“A very small scourge,” Stacie giggled as she flicked her tail at Beca and glided through the water, back to her rock to stretch out again in the sun. Beca yelled after her, her smile giving away her empty threats. Emily, meanwhile, was fretting over what she could give Beca in return.

After a moment, a thought occurred to her and she reached down to pluck a scale from her tail, wincing slightly. She held it out to Beca, and she took it with a look of awe and wonder, holding it up and watching the rainbow colours shine in the sunlight. It was almost as large as Beca’s hand fully outstretched.

“She be a true beauty,” Beca said, tucking the scale into her breast pocket with a smile. “Much like the mermaid she hails from.”

Emily giggled and her tail flashed a pleased pink hue as she blushed under Beca’s attentive gaze. Emily bit her lip and pushed herself up out of the water to steal another kiss from Beca’s lips, sighing when Beca cupped her jaw lightly with a hand.

“Speak me of yerself, fair one,” Beca said, her fingers reaching out to brush against Emily’s gills. 

“What do you want to know?” Emily asked, playing with the medallion as she spoke.

“Yer tail,” Beca said hesitantly, as if she didn’t know whether she was right to ask. “It’s different than it was before.”

“My scales change colours to match how I feel,” Emily explained, her tail glimmering a faint yellow as spoke. She was glad Beca wanted to know more about mermaids. Beca cast a questioning look over to Stacie, who’s deep magenta tail was flipping idly as she sunbathed.

“I’m the only mermaid we know of who’s tail does that,” Emily said. Beca nodded, looking down at Emily’s tail in the water in fascination.

Beca startled suddenly and pulled a brass pocket watch out of her trousers, flicking it open and looking at it intently before giving Emily an apologetic smile. 

“I suffer to leave ye, but I must be back to me ship before me crew begins to question me absence,” Beca said after pulling back from the kiss. Emily’s tail flushed a pale blue colour and she pouted up at her pirate, nodding her head.

“Will you be back tomorrow?” Emily asked, with wide, hopeful eyes.

“I shan’t be a moment late,” Beca assured, standing and pulling her leather boots back on.

“Goodbye, Beca,” Emily called, propping herself up on the shore and waving to the pirate.

“Fair winds and following seas, fair one,” Beca called back sweetly, before turning and disappearing around the inlet.

Emily waited for a full minute before squealing and flipping back into the water, her tail propelling her to Stacie in a few powerful strokes. She swam happy, excited circles around the rock Stacie perched on, hugging the medallion to her heart.

“She’s rather fond of you, isn’t she?” Stacie asked with an amused smile.

“Oh, do you think so?” Emily asked, her tail shimmering back and forth between yellow, pink, and red.

“Most definitely,” Stacie assured, flipping off the rock and into the water with a splash. Emily dove under water as well, following Stacie through the sea as they made their way back to the ship. “Let’s go to the market, I want to see if they have anything worth trading for.”

Emily, who was still on cloud nine, didn’t care what they did. She happily followed Stacie as they made their way to the deepest part of the reef, the market exploding with life as tropical fish, dolphins, and other sea creatures swam around the merfolk doing their trading.

The mermen they passed hooted at them and showed off their muscles, much to Stacie’s amusement. She loved coming to the market and cooing at handsome merfolk who got their tails in a twist just trying to impress her. 

Emily didn’t care for it.

She thought of her charming, feisty pirate and sighed lovingly, grasping at the medallion and swimming along in a daze, completely ignoring the mermen trying to get her attention. Stacie was very amused by this, and shoved Emily’s shoulder fondly.

Stacie found nothing of interest in the market for herself, but traded for a few human trinkets for Emily, much to the younger mermaid’s pleasure. She was always eager to add new human things to her collections.

“I’m not quite sure what it’s good for, but it’s human,” Stacie said, brandishing the elongated tube like a club.

“It’s a telescope,” Emily explained, remembering what she had read. “It lets you see things from very far away.”

“Humans are such funny creatures,” Stacie said fondly. “Perhaps I should get a two-leg pet of my own.”

“Oh my _Neptune_ , Stacie,” Emily squeaked, her tail flashing bright pink. “Beca is _not_ my two-leg pet, please do _not_ let her hear you say that.”

“Whatever you say,” Stacie cooed as they headed back to the ship. Emily shook her head, following Stacie into the hull and placing her new human trinkets in the chest in the captain’s quarters. Idly, she thought the telescope would make a lovely present for Beca once she cleaned it up. 

It was in a pirate’s nature to steal, so Emily wasn’t at all surprised that the tiny captain had stolen her heart. She just hoped she would be equally successful in winning over Beca’s affections as well.

Emily let herself sink through the water until she was spread out on the bed, her tail flipping idly. She grasped at the golden medallion again, a smile stretching her face as she counted down the hours until she would be reunited with her love.


	4. Chapter 4

“Ahoy Captain!” Chloe called as Beca approached the grounded ship. The rest of her crew was chipping and scraping at the barnacles and algae on the hull, ensuring Beca’s ship would sail at her top speeds. 

“Ahoy,” Beca greeted. “How goes the careening?” 

“Blessed be the wind in our sails,” Chloe replied. “She’s coming along handsomely.” 

“Excellent,” Beca said, resting a hand in the hilt of her sword and watching her crew at work. Chloe hovered by her side for a moment, looking like she was deep in thought. 

“Captain,” she started. “May I speak true?” 

“Get on with it,” Beca replied. 

“Where have ye gone the past two days?” Chloe asked, not looking Beca in the eye. 

“To venture the coast,” Beca replied evenly. 

“Venture the coast,” Chloe repeated, sounding skeptical. She mulled over the answer before continuing. “There’s reason to that I suppose.”

Beca let out an internal sigh of relief. She wasn’t sure if she wanted her crew to know about her mermaid companions. She was sure no good would come of it.

“I’ve heard word that Jesse docks on the opposite shores of Tortuga,” Chloe said casually.

“Why am I just hearing word of this now?” Beca growled.

“I only heard the murmurs in town last night, and you had disappeared by then,” Chloe said in a snarky tone.

“Tis no matter,” Beca snarled. “I’ll send them with my service to the devil should they be looking for trouble.”

“Aye, captain,” Chloe agreed. “The crew shall keep a lookout.”

She turned and walked off to bark more orders at the crew as they cleaned the ship. The hand on her sword gripped the hilt in white knuckles as she mulled over the new information Chloe had given her. Jesse Swanson and his half-masted crew of sea rats had been a thorn in her side for years, but she had yet to have the pleasure of sending his ship to the bottom of the ocean.  

She just hoped they could set sail from Tortuga before she had to deal with anything serious. 

Now, alone for the first time that day, Beca mulled over her feelings. It made her feel less fearsome than she’d ever felt, but she found herself missing Emily dreadfully. The beautiful mermaid had snared her heart and taken it with her in their parting. Beca turned and walked out onto the dock, looking out across the ocean. 

She loved her life on the sea, and couldn’t wait to be back on her ship tasting the salty sea spray, feeling the wind in her hair and the sun on her skin. 

How would Emily fit into that? 

Beca felt her heart ache for her love, and wished more than anything she could just go back to the cove and spend the rest of the day sprawled on the warm flat rocks with Emily. A sudden gust of wind off the ocean swept through the ruffles in her shirt and Beca sighed heavily before wincing at the pain the action brought her. 

She placed a gentle palm on her stomach, feeling the heat of her skin burning through the layers of cloth. She had slept fitfully last night had felt increasingly warm and languid as the day had gone on. 

She lifted the hem of her shirt, wincing again at the pain of the material brushing against her wound. The skin around the stitching was angry and red, and burning to the touch. She took in a deep breath and ignored the sweat forming on her body. This hadn’t been her first brush with death and it certainly wouldn’t be her last. 

But still…her condition would cause more trouble if they were to have a run in with Jesse and his crew. Beca was caught between her desire to stay in Tortuga for as long as possible for Emily and her need to keep herself and her crew alive. She wouldn’t be of much value to Emily as a dead captain.

No, she would just have to make sure they were ready to set sail at a moment’s notice. 

 “While we’re still alive and fightin, ye scoundrels!” Beca barked, turning and striding back towards the ship. “I want er to be the fastest ship on the seven seas!”  

Her crew snapped to attention and picked up the pace, scrubbing away at the ship. Beca felt a seed of worry plant itself in her stomach, but she shook it away and focused on the task at hand. 

/ / / 

As the day progressed, Beca’s condition got worse. By evening, she was trying not to pant from how hot and achy she had become. Her head dealt dizzy and waterlogged, and her thoughts were dancing about in her head incoherently. Even standing watching the crew had her swaying on her feet. 

Chloe had finally noticed her strange behaviour and had forced her down into a sitting position on the dock, leaning her up against a barrel. 

“Beca,” Chloe said, voice laced with concern. It was rare for her to address Beca by name, so she knew the girl was worried for her. “What ails you?” 

Instead of hiding it, Beca shucked up her shirt, showing Chloe the angry red inflammation of her laceration. Chloe gasped in shock and the rest of the crew migrated over to see what was going on, letting out their own cries of shock and anger. 

“Captain! Who be the devil who done such a thing?!” Amy growled angrily, drawing her sword. 

“A...siren...attack...” Beca said, panting weakly as her body shuddered. It felt like the fever was taking up her whole body and her stomach burned like she’d been run through on a cutlass. 

“Why not speak of it?” Chloe said angrily, reaching for a bottle of rum and popping the cork. She gave Beca an apologetic smile before upending the bottle over Beca’s stomach. Beca had to bite down on her lip to strangle her pained shout, her body convulsing violently. 

She drew in laboured breaths and closed her eyes until the pain subsided and the burning she felt in her stomach began to numb from the alcohol. 

“A captain shows no weakness,” Beca mumbled deliriously. The pain was less intense now but she still felt like her body was melting and her own voice sounded far away. 

“Fool,” Chloe muttered under her breath before turning and spitting out orders. “Lilly, Amy, Jess, go into town and speak with the merchants and the traders to find something to fix this.” 

The girls in question nodded and took off across the beach for the center of the island. Satisfied with that, Chloe tore a strip of cloth from her sleeve and soaked it in the chilly ocean water to press against Beca’s forehead. 

Beca was heaving shuddering breaths now as she slid down the barrel to lay flat on the dock. She ran her fingers across the grainy wood to give herself something to focus on. 

“We’re a sorry sight,” Beca mused feverishly. “A ship bound by the land and a captain bound by death. I have one boot in Davy Jones’ locker.” 

“Speak not in such a way,” Chloe berated, sweeping Beca’s hair away from her forehead. 

“Should I pass through the veil on this eve, may I speak true as death?” Beca asked. She wasn’t even sure if Chloe was there anymore, but she continued anyway. “I swear on me father’s watery grave that I fancy a mermaid!” 

Beca crowed the last part before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Her thoughts drifted to Emily and more than ever she wished to see her face again. 

“She be as beautiful as the sea itself,” Beca babbled. Nothing was more important to her in that moment than Chloe understanding how fine Emily was. “Eyes the colour of the finest Italian leather.” 

“Really? Speak more of this,” Chloe said, and Beca was conscious enough to realize that she did not believe her whatsoever. She wanted to be annoyed, but she was so happy to talk about Emily that she didn’t care. 

“I gifted her father’s medallion,” Beca said, smiling tiredly at the thought. “I wish to see her again before I die. Perchance I roll myself into the sea and she comes to rescue me.”

Suddenly, this seemed like an incredible idea to Beca and with pained groans and huffing breaths, she wiggled herself to the edge of the dock, only for Chloe to grab her by her shirt and tug her back to the middle.

“What do you think you’re about?” Chloe said in a strict tone. “You’re neither mad nor a fool and yet talk like both.”

Beca lost the ability to keep up a conversation shortly after that, and her condition grew worse the longer they waited for some sort of medicine. After an hour had passed, Chloe barked at the rest of the crew to stop cleaning and sent them after the first group in hopes that they would find something faster, leaving just Chloe and Beca on the docks.

The time floated by and Beca’s condition grew worse. By the time the sun had set and cast them into near darkness, the crew still hadn’t returned. With the sun gone, taking the warmth with it, Beca began to shiver and shudder on the dock, despite the sweat pouring off her body. She rolled onto her side, facing the water, and curled into as much of a ball as she could manage with the pain gripping her abdomen.

Chloe disappeared from her side for a while, the only clue that she had left being the fading sound of her steps on the dock as she walked towards the shore. Beca wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Chloe returned and draped a blanket over Beca. Now she was even warmer and her clothes reeked of rum, and everything hurt so much that Beca wanted to hurl.

“Where be the crew,” she mumbled dazedly. “I’ll fly their bloody heads as my banner.”

“Passion is an ill word to steer by,” Chloe retorted with a laugh. “How say you of moving to the ship?”

“Never think it,” Beca groaned. “Should I move I will surely die.”

“You’re overly apt with your tongue,” Chloe groused, shaking her head. “But there’s sense in that.” 

“Tis no matter,” Beca said woefully. Her vision was growing fuzzy by now and she could feel herself slipping under. She had been dancing with the devil more than usual in the past few days. “As it chances I shall die, but upon my honour, a pirate’s life is the only life for a man of any spirit.” 

“Now there was a true word as ever was heard spoke,” Chloe said, gripping Beca’s hand tightly between her own. “To our next merry meeting, captain.”

“To the luck of the brotherhood,” Beca managed to mumble out before she finally lost consciousness and succumbed to darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @ao3 user oh_deer: This one goes out to you. Tolerate me.

“Do you think Beca will like it?” Emily asked as she inspected the freshly polished telescope, swimming nervous circles around Stacie.

“Yes, for the hundredth time, I think she’s going to love it,” Stacie sighed, scrubbing a palm across her face in frustration. “You need to relax Em, she’s basically obsessed with you.”

“Oh Neptune, I hope she likes it,” Emily said again, her tail flicking in nervous anticipation as they surfaced in the cove. Stacie immediately pulled herself up onto the flat rocks to sun herself, and Emily swam to the shore and propped her elbows on it, looking for any sign of Beca. She sighed when she saw none. It was already mid-morning and Beca had said she would be there first thing.

“Maybe something’s wrong, Stace,” Emily said, her tail lashing nervously as her scales danced between different shades of blue.

“Maybe she’s just late, Em,” Stacie said dismissively, clearly not interested in Emily’s obvious concern.

“Something feels wrong,” Emily insisted. Stacie waved a hand idly at her before flicking some water at her with her tail fin.

“Chill out scaredy-scales, I’m sure it’s nothing,” Stacie reassured, sitting up and rolling her eyes at Emily.

“Stacie,” Emily whined imploringly, looking at the other mermaid with her wide, innocent eyes. Stacie’s easy grin faltered momentarily before she sighed in defeat and slipped into the water.

“I suppose we could go and see if anything is happening in the bay,” Stacie said with a heavy sigh, flipping her tail and heading towards where the large ships docked along the beach. Emily swam along behind her, her mind clouded with worry as she fidgeted nervously with the telescope in her hands. When they got close enough to the docks that they could surface without being seen, they peeked out of the water.

“See, look!” Stacie said, shouldering at Emily and pointing at the long dock by the giant beached pirate ship. Beca was lying flat on the dock and appeared to be asleep. “She’s just sleeping, no worries.”

“Okay, well…I guess we can go back to the cove,” Emily said with a pout. She wanted to see Beca now, and having her just out of reach was infuriating.

“Are you serious? No way!” Stacie giggled. “This is the perfect opportunity for me to pull a fast one on the captain.”

“Stacie,” Emily deadpanned. “She’s a pirate, you shouldn’t startle her. What if she shoots you.”

“It would be worth it,” Stacie snickered. Emily rolled her eyes.

“Fine, go get shot and see if I care,” Emily huffed sarcastically.

“With pleasure,” Stacie crooned, letting out a playfully growl and slipping below the waves to swim stealthily up to the dock. Against her better interest, Emily followed along. Stacie had a wicked grin on her face, and Emily was reminded of her crazy friend’s penchant for mischief as Stacie let out a playful snarl and pushed herself up onto the docks, grabbing Beca.

After hearing only silence, Emily surfaced and pushed herself up onto the dock as well. Stacie was leaning curiously over Beca, poking at her face and opening one of her eyelids to stare into it.

“I think there’s something wrong with her?” Stacie said unsurely, casting her worried gaze up to Emily.

Emily wasn’t paying attention to anything Stacie was saying. Instead, she was looking down at her fearsome pirate, now a ghostly pale little thing shivering in her unconscious state. What had happened to her? Emily placed her hands gently on Beca’s cheeks, tapping them to try to get her to wake up.

Her skin felt like fire under her fingertips and Emily followed the trail of heat to its source, rucking up Beca’s ruffled shirt and revealing the angry red skin under it.

“That does not look good,” Stacie said, concern lacing her tone.

“No, it doesn’t,” Emily said. “The fool let herself go and get infected.”

Before Emily could do anything more, there was a shout. She looked up to see a redhead race down the dock, drawing a sword as she went. Stacie, who was wise and driven by her survival instinct, dove back into the water as soon as Chloe appeared.

Emily, who was not wise, did not.

Instead, she took one look at Beca, laying there so small and frail, and scooped her up into her arms before dropping back into the water. She cringed as she did because she knew the sea water wouldn’t be good for the wound, but there was no way she was abandoning her on the dock and letting some pirate prevent her from helping her love.

“Release her she-demon! Before I gut you like the skulking fish you are!” The redheaded pirate shouted.

“I’m not going to let Beca die by giving her to you,” Emily barked back. “You clearly weren’t doing anything!” 

The redhead deflated at that instantly.

“Beca?” She asked. “How do you know the captain’s name, sea witch?”

“She’s my…” Emily started, but trailed off. She didn’t really know _what_ Beca was to her, only that she loved her deeply. She looked to Stacie for guidance, an awkwardly pained look on her face.

“Mate?” Stacie suggesting, shrugging and looking just as lost as Emily.

“I suppose so,” Emily replied, tilting her head back and forth and she considered it, completely forgetting about the other pirate.

“Get on with it!” She shouted, reminding Emily of her presence and her sword.

“She’s my mate I guess,” Emily said, casting a fond look down to the tiny pirate in her arms. She was hit by another wave of worry as she remembered Beca’s condition, and swam a little closer to the docks, watching the other pirate cautiously.

“She spoke true of the mermaid she fancied?” The pirate asked, dropping her sword to her side in her winder. Emily knew this was a tense situation, but she couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled up from her lips at the thought of Beca talking about her in her absence.

“Yes, now let me get her back on the dock so I can help her!” Emily ordered, closing the distance between them and hoisting Beca back onto the dock. Stacie followed her and pushed herself up as well, sitting on the dock and waiting for instruction.

The pirate’s eyes dropped to the medallion hanging around her neck, and her eyes flashed in recognition. 

“Beca’s father medallion,” she said, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“She gave it to me,” Emily said softly, clutching at it. She remembered the task at hand and shook her head. The girl seemed to remember as well.

‘What hope do you have, mermaid?” The pirate asked.

“Emily, my name is Emily” Emily said. “This is Stacie, and I have a knowledge of healing. What have you done for it so far?”

“Chloe,” the pirate greeted. “I’m Beca’s quartermaster.”

“Excellent,” Emily replied sarcastically. “But the wound. What have you done for the wound?”

“We uh, we poured some rum on it,” Chloe said hesitantly, a hand coming up to rub at the back of her neck.

“You… _poured some rum on it_ ,” Emily repeated in disbelief. When Chloe nodded her head she rolled her eyes and dove into the water, muttering “crazy stupid pirates,” under her breath as she did. She swam down to the ocean floor and pulled up long strands of seaweed before turning and heading to the surface again. 

“Get her shirt off,” she ordered to no one in particular, and both Stacie and Chloe jumped to the task, awkwardly bumping each other as they worked Beca out of the soaked shirt. Once that was done, Emily set to work carefully wrapping Beca’s abdomen in layers and layers of the cold seaweed.

“What help will that be?” Chloe asked, peeking over to watch Emily work.

“It will help with the heat and the inflammation,” Emily responded. “It should help until you can find a land medicine for her.”

“Aye, the crew is scouring the island for a cure,” Chloe informed her, sitting back on her heels now that part of their crisis had been averted.

“So, you’re a pirate too, then?” Stacie asked, leaning back on the dock and looking at Chloe with an air of interest. Emily rolled her eyes and tuned out their conversation, instead focusing on Beca. She leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, worry creeping back in to settle in her chest at the warmth radiating off her skin.

“She shouldn’t be out in the sun like this,” Emily fretted, brushing hair away from Beca’s forehead.

“She refused to move to the ship last night, and in her condition, we can’t get her up on a careened ship,” Chloe said. “I fear it would be foolish and dangerous to take her into town.”

“We can take her to the cove,” Stacie suggested, pausing from playing with the curly strands of Chloe’s fiery hair.

“She _would_ be safe there, and out of the sun,” Emily said, mulling over it. “Yes, I suppose that’s the best option right now.”

“Do you know the cove? If you follow the shore down the beach, you’ll come to a secluded inlet,” Stacie explained to Chloe, pointing down the beach to where you could just see the shoreline disappear around a corner.

“Aye,” Chloe responded. “I shall stay here and wait for the crew, and then I shall join you when I can.”

Emily nodded her agreement and scooped Beca reverently into her arms again, gently sliding off the dock and into the water. She settled the girl more steadily in her arms and cradled her small frame as she swam slowly back the cove, Stacie exchanging a few more words with Chloe before sliding into the water and following along.

When they go to the cove, Emily carefully deposited Beca on the beach, under the shade of an overhanging tree. She kicked her tail in the water, watching as it shimmered with a soft golden light before transforming into a pair of human legs. She pushed herself up onto the shore on shaky limbs, not used to being on legs, especially when hers were this long. She took a moment to steady herself before dropping down next to Beca and lying in the sand beside her.

She brushed her hair out of her eyes again and checked her seaweed wrap to make sure it was still firmly in place.

“Oh Beca,” she said softly. “Why do you have to get into such dangerous situations?”

Of course, Beca didn’t respond, and Emily tucked Beca into her side, wrapping her arms securely around her as she settled in to wait.

/ / /

True to her word, Chloe eventually joined them later that night. She brought with her blankets and food, wrapped up in a linen to make it easier to carry. She deposited her haul on the beach and Stacie greeted her eagerly, popping up out of the water.

When Chloe saw Emily, her eyebrows shut up.

“You have legs,” she said, dumbfounded.

“We can come on the land when we want to,” Stacie supplied, her tail shimmering gold before she stepped onto the shore as well. Chloe’s eyes wondered down Stacie’s body, who preened at the attention.

Emily, who was still very concerned about Beca, did not have time for their antics.

“Did the others find anything?” She asked impatiently. Chloe lit up and dug into her pile of things to reveal a blue glass jar, tossing it to Emily. 

“This salve should help stop the infection,” Chloe said, looking almost as relieved as Emily felt. While Chloe got set making them a fire, with little real help from Stacie, Emily unwrapped Beca. She gently rubbed the salve all over the wound before wrapping the seaweed snugly around her abdomen again.

Stacie made herself useful spreading out the linen for them to lay on and throwing Emily a blanket to wrap her and Beca up in. Emily curled protectively around Beca again, wasting the hours away holding her close while Chloe swam around in the water with Stacie.

Eventually, the small pirate stirred tiredly in her arms, blinking blearily. She rolled over and looked up into Emily’s face, snuggling herself into the mermaid’s chest.

“If this be death then let me know no sweeter prison,” Beca mumbled with a dopey smile. Emily tilted her head down to press a kiss to Beca’s head, holding her closer.

“You’re not dead, we patched you up,” Emily said. “Chloe brought us a salve.”

“Ye met Chloe?” Beca asked dazedly, looking over her shoulder to where Chloe was jumping off the flat rocks and splashing Stacie, who laughed loudly.

“She let me help you,” Emily said softly with a nod. “You need to stop almost dying.”

“Occupational hazard,” Beca said with a weak laugh. She burrowed further into Emily’s warmth, a muffled squeak of surprise escaping her when her legs tangled with Emily’s.

“I came onto land,” Emily said in simple explanation. Beca tilted her head curiously and peeked under the blanket at Emily’s long tan legs before going red and quickly covering them with the blanket again. Emily giggled, pulling Beca closer and allowing her to nestle her face into Emily’s neck.

“You silly humans change colour like my tail,” Emily giggled softly, kissing Beca’s head again.

Beca grumbled in a noncommittal fashion, and Emily could feel her smiling against her neck after a minute.

“You should sleep love, you’ll heal faster,” Emily advised softly. Beca nodded slowly, already floating in that space in between waking and sleeping.

Emily sighed as Beca dozed off in her arms again. She looked up at the stars and listened to the crackle of the fire and the soft laughter of Stacie and Chloe in the background as she held Beca closer to her heart and safe from harm.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for such a huge delay between updates. I was crazy busy with final projects and exams, but now that I'm done for the summer, hopefully I'll be able to get back to updating regularly. 
> 
> Beca's back and gayer than ever.

Beca woke the next morning with Emily still curled around her protectively. She sat up slowly, Emily’s arm and the blanket falling to pool around her hips. Her stomach felt cool and tingly, probably from the salve, and most of the pain had faded to a dull ache. Turning to the left, she saw Chloe curled up with a two-legged Stacie as well, both still sound asleep on the beach.

She picked at the seaweed around her stomach idly, laying back down and tugging the blanket back up. She crossed her arms under her head and sighed, looking up at the sky above. There was a faint breeze that carried the salty smell of the ocean to her nose. Emily shifted in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent as she rolled over, hooking a leg and an arm around Beca and snuggling in closer to her.

Her bare skin brushed up against Beca’s and Beca felt herself blushing at being so perfectly nestled into all Emily’s curves. It had barely been a problem in the water, because Emily’s long wet hair fell almost to her waist anyway. Now, on dry land with her hair soft and silky and fanned our beneath her, Beca was thankful for the covering the blanket offered them.

“Forbidden fruit,” Beca despaired to herself quietly, throwing an arm over her eyes. “Sweet temptation of a beautiful maiden.”

“Mmf, did you say something?” Emily mumbled sleepily as she yawned, and Beca flamed again.

“Nothing, fair one,” Beca was quick to assure, cursing her luck. Of course, Emily would wake when Beca was in the middle of making a fool of herself.

“Okay,” Emily mumbled again. She yawned and sat up, pulling Beca up into her arms as well. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Beca said sheepishly. “Yet again I owe ye a debt.”

“You owe me nothing,” Emily assured, waving away Beca’s words. She tilted her head down and brought a hand up to cup Beca’s jaw and she kissed her, deeply and sweetly, making Beca’s head spin.

“Any matter, we should be off to the ship soon,” Beca said as she pushed herself up off the sand and stood. There was still some mild pain in her middle, but it was fading fast and she was able to breathe through it. Emily stood as well, brushing the sand from her golden skin and smiling at Beca brightly. Beca immediately averted her eyes with a heavy blush.

“You’re changing colours again,” Emily said with a curious smile and tilt to her head. “Why?”

“Nothing,” Beca said gruffly. She thanked the gods of the sea when she saw that Chloe had brought Beca’s long overcoat with her. Beca scooped it up and, still avoiding looking at Emily, handed her the coat to put on.

“Does my human form not please you?” Emily asked, a pout playing on her full lips.

“Ye be more beautiful than the whole of the ocean,” Beca assured firmly. “Too beautiful even for me to look at.”

“Humans are so silly,” Emily giggled before pulling on the coat. “But that was very sweet of you Beca.”

Beca blushed and huffed and kicked the toe of her boot into the sand before turning and going to wake Chloe and Stacie, who were still curled together on a linen.

Beca pressed her toe into the small of Chloe’s back, applying a slight pressure. As predicted, her quartermaster jolted at the intrusion and blinked sleepily and angrily up at Beca.

“I almost liked it better when you were unconscious,” Chloe grumbled up at her before turning and wrapping her arms around Stacie again, content to go to sleep.

“Get up ye scurvy sea dog,” Beca grumbled. “We have to get back to the ship. The crew will be wanting after us.”

Chloe sighed heavily but pulled away from Stacie’s side and stood as well, emptying the sand that had collected in her boots. She gripped Beca’s shoulder to help balance herself as she pulled them on. Emily was busying herself trying to figure out how the buttons and buckles on Beca’s coat worked, and Stacie was still asleep, so Chloe took their moment of solitude to talk privately with Beca.

“What be our bearing, Beca?” Chloe asked, looking down at Stacie before casting a look over at Emily. “We can’t dock in Tortuga forever.”

“I know,” Beca said solemnly, looking out across the sea. The sea was her true home, not the land, and in that way, she guessed her and Emily were similar. Free spirits at the mercy of the ocean tides. Beca breathed the fresh, salty air in deep, feeling it’s call sing in her blood. She needed to be out on her ship, going on wild adventures and risking her life for the thrill of it all. She couldn’t be confined to land.

But a pirate ship was no place for a mermaid. The cove was Emily’s home and she couldn’t take her from that, no matter how Beca longed to do so. She could imagine no better life than travelling the world with Emily by her side. Her pirate queen.

Chloe looked at her, another question lingering in her blue eyes, but she spoke no more. She gave Beca’s shoulder a tight squeeze and turned to focus on waking Stacie instead. Beca let her eyes drift back over to Emily.

The buttons were in the wrong holes and she was still wrestling with the buckles, but when she noticed Beca watching her she proudly held up her arms to show her the progress she had made. It made Beca’s heart _ache_. She wanted Emily forever and ever until the day she died, but despite her pirate nature, Emily was one thing Beca wouldn’t take without consent. If Emily wished to stay in the cove then she would, but Beca could not say the same for herself.

Out on the sea was where she belonged.

It pained her to even think on it, but perhaps it was time to say goodbye.

/ / /

They returned to the docks at hour later to find the ship back in the water, bobbing lazily in the waves. The crew was down on the dock, arguing with a couple of pirates, and Beca could already smell trouble.

“Well, well, well,” a male voice called as they approached. “Look at what the tide washed in.”

Jesse thumped Beca’s shoulder jovially as she passed, handing the supplies off to another crew mate before turning to face him.

“Jesse,” she drawled, her tone casual but speaking of an underlying venom. “Here’s fine stuff for the gallows indeed.”

“That be no way to treat a fellow Captain!” He said with a broad smile, a few golden teeth glinting in the mid-morning sun. “Especially after my crew ran off a naval ship that had wandered to close to the island. Wouldn’t want trouble for ye.”

“No, we wouldn’t,” Beca said with an unimpressed scowl. Things were never good when Jesse and his band of snakes were prowling about.

“And who be these fine ocean breezes?” Jesse asked, his grin turning salacious as he regarded Emily and Stacie. Beca had to bite back the growl that threatened to leave her lips. She was hyper aware of how scarcely dressed Emily was, and Stacie too for that matter, and wanted nothing more than to run Jesse through from tip to tail with her cutlass.

“They be too good for the likes of ye,” Beca said, spitting on the ground at Jesse’s feet. “And I’m as sure of that as I am of your lack of skill as a pirate.”

As she spoke, Beca had shifted to the left to stand just in front of Emily, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, sheathed once again at her side. She was only mildly aware of how ridiculous she must look trying to defend Emily when she only came up to her shoulder. But what Beca lacked in height she made up for in spite and tenacity.

Jesse looked at her with practiced indifference, but Beca could see the apprehension in his eyes and the scheming in the slow smile that stretched across his face.

“Be it that way?” He asked. When Beca made no move away from Emily and spoke no more, he nodded. “Fine. Farewell, Shawshank.”

He spat out the moniker like a poison before turning on his heel and stalking off, the few pirates he had brought along with him trailing behind him like the filthy dogs they were. Beca huffed and spat at the ground again, turning and stalking off herself. She walked up the plank to her ship and went to her quarters, eager to change into clothes that weren’t rank with sea water and blood.

She was halfway through changing, her shirt up over her head, when someone entered her cabin.

“Hello captain,” Emily’s teasing voice cooed. Beca squeaked, embarrassed by her state of undress. She tried to ruck the shirt back down but it tangled around her arms and head and she only got more stuck. She wiggled around fruitlessly, only succeeding in tripping over the small chest at the foot of her bed and falling over backwards.

She made a surprised huffing sound as the air left her body in a rush, shocking her stupid momentarily. Stars swam before her eyes before she blinked them away. The next thing she was aware of was Emily’s raucous laughter, bright like a little bell. It made her heart race.

Beca finally managed to tug the shirt down over her head and found Emily perched on the chest on her hands and knees, leaning down to hover over her and still giggling away.

“Do you need help, my little tiger shark?” Emily cooed, and Beca blushed heavily.Emily took that as a yes and pulled Beca up and onto her lap, patiently working at the button’s Beca had neglected to undo. 

“Thanks,” Beca said awkwardly, still not used to Emily’s easy intimacy. 

“Look, I’m getting better,” Emily beamed at her. She looked extremely satisfied as she made her way to the last button, looking up at Beca proudly. 

“I would never know ye don’t wear clothes,” Beca said with a laugh before shifting to stand up. Before she could, Emily had wrapped her strong arms around Beca to hold her in place. Beca was about to ask why when Emily tilted her head to press a kiss to Beca’s lips. Her head spun and she found herself laughing happily against Emily’s lips. Once Emily was satisfied, she let Beca go. 

“Now you can change,” she said with a happy smile. Beca did as she was told and produced a fresh shirt, buttoning it over herself and sliding Emily’s scale back into her breast pocket. With that done, she turned back to Emily. A very nude Emily currently sprawled across Beca’s bed. 

“I don’t know how you wear clothes all day, they’re so tight and itchy,” Emily said as she wrapped her arms around one of Beca’s pillows, a look of wonder on her face. “Is this what beds are like on land? It’s so dry and soft and warm. You know I’m always amazed by how warm you are, you’re the warmest thing I’ve ever held.” 

“If ye want me to continue living, clothes will be necessary on land,” Beca said, beginning to get tired of how often she found herself blushing now that Emily was around. 

“Well you’ll have to find something that fits me better than your coat,” Emily giggled. “You’re much too small, little tiger shark.” 

Beca agreed with her on that, and took a minute to size Emily up, despite how it made her dizzy and flushed to do so. She figured Chloe was probably the right size and returned a moment later with a pair of fitted trousers and a loose shirt that Emily could wear. She dressed reluctantly, still whining about how annoying clothes were, and collapsed onto the bed with Beca when she was done. 

Emily pulled Beca into her arms and curled around her protectively, reaching out to grasp her hand. Beca felt safe and warm in Emily’s arms, and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep again. 

“I love you so much, Beca,” Emily said softly. The emotion in her voice was raw and genuine and Beca’s soul shattered at thinking how she would soon have to be parted from her love. Their fates just weren’t tied the way Beca wished they were. She couldn’t stay in Tortuga and Emily just couldn’t come with her. Beca could visit her during her travels, they came back to Tortuga enough, but it was always months between, and she didn’t know if she could handle that. Besides, every day she continued to live was another day she might cease to exist. The life of a pirate was dangerous, and if she died out at sea, she would never be able to say goodbye to Emily. 

Emily was a treasure Beca longed to have as her own, but she was one that wasn’t meant to be. Emily was a sea breeze that Beca couldn’t capture. She should tell Emily. They should speak about the future. 

“I love you too, fair one,” she said instead. “More than ye shall ever know. More than life itself.” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated. I'm super happy you guys are actually liking the small mountain of fics I pour into this fandom, I'm so happy it's growing.
> 
> If you guys have pirate Beca or mermaid Emily hcs or anything specific you want to see as this story progresses then give me a shout on tumblr @runningwithpadfoot


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